A Certain Miscommunication
by eri-loves-nozomi
Summary: None of this would have happened if it weren't for that one thing that everyone forgot to mention. A cute and funny NozoEri story. One-sided NozoNico
1. Eri Part 1

A/N: The reason for Nozomi's actions will become clear in chapter 2

* * *

Eri stretched her arms, relieving some of the soreness that had built up from leaning over the desk for three hours. She could hear the bell in the distance, signaling the end of the school day. It was time for all the clubs to pack up and go home, and she thought that maybe just this once, it would be a good idea for her to go with them. Nodding her head a little in an internal agreement with herself, she promptly started to pack her things, setting aside the unfinished stack of student council papers to be worked on tomorrow.

After making certain that she had everything and one last glance around the otherwise empty student council room, Eri closed the door behind her and briskly made her way to the school shoe lockers. By this time, most of the club students had either left, were chatting at their lockers, were still in the showers, or were cleaning their club rooms.

"Come on Nico-chan, you can do it! You already asked her to meet you, now you just have to go and wow her with your charm!" Hoshizora Rin, a hyper-active first year and member of the idol research club was encouraging her senior, Yazawa Nico, near the row of lockers Eri approached on her way to retrieve her outdoor shoes. Standing next to the two of them was Koizumi Hanayo, another first year who was a very quiet and shy girl. Eri gave Hanayo a small smile as she passed, knowing that the poor girl was probably feeling nervous about whatever her two friends were 'arguing' about now.

"No way! I can't do it! I…I feel sick. I'm gonna go to the nurse's office and lie down for a bit." With that, Nico immediately ran off, leaving her things on the bench near the lockers. Rin ran after her with a shouted "Wait!" leaving Hanayo with two extra bags and a worried expression.

Eri, having already changed shoes while this was going on, paused on her way out the door. She was a little torn between offering to assist her junior or just staying out of it and going home. In the end, her sense of duty as the student council president won out and she turned back to see what she could do to help.

"Is there anything I can do?" Hanayo jumped a little in surprise when Eri spoke up. She wasn't expecting her senior to come back to check on her. She glanced shyly at Eri and then at the bags on the bench as she thought about what needed to be done. Finally she came to a decision and nervously made her request.

"It would be a great help if you could go meet the girl that is waiting for Nico-sempai. Please tell her that she can't make it today and that she is really sorry for all the trouble. She is waiting for her right now, under the large tree near the alpaca stalls. Thank you very much!" Eri was expecting to help with carrying bags or locating Nico and Rin, so this request was somewhat surprising, but she had no reason to turn Hanayo down, especially with how the girl was looking at her so hopefully.

"Right. I'll just go do that now and then head home, okay? Who is she meeting anyway?" Hanayo had already vanished by the time she got done asking that last question, so Eri had no choice but to head out to the designated meeting spot and wait until someone approached her. She hoped that it wouldn't take too long for the other person to show up. She was looking forward to going home and spending a nice relaxing evening with her family. Maybe she would cook something extra nice for dinner tonight.

There wasn't anyone there when Eri arrived at the tree. She wondered if the person was running late or if they had already come and left. Maybe they didn't even plan to come at all, and she'd be left waiting here for a long time. She couldn't just leave herself, because she had to at least try to do this. It was what was expected of her. The more she thought about the possibility of waiting here alone, the more she worried. It would be dark soon, too. There is nothing scarier to Ayase Eri than having to walk home alone at night. She was already regretting her decision to help Hanayo out.

Eri was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice the purple-haired girl approach until she was standing right next to her. She just about jumped out of her skin when she felt the girl take her hand and entwine their fingers together. Her face was heating up and her heart was pounding, and this girl that she had never talked to before was holding her hand and smiling at her with an affectionate look that she had never seen on anyone before, and Eri was too dumbfounded to speak coherently.

"What's your name?" She had a pretty voice, and pretty eyes, and a pretty everything, really, but that didn't explain anything. Like how this person can come up to a total stranger and start holding their hand without even knowing their name first. Not that they were total strangers. Eri was certain that they were in the same grade and maybe had had a class or two together at one point, but they weren't friends, so what was happening now didn't make any sense to her at all.

"umm…I'm Ayase Eri…" What Eri really wanted to do was ask why she was standing too close, or why she was giving her that assessing look, or even why she had such a bright smile on her face, but something about this girl being so close made it hard for Eri to speak. She didn't know how to handle this situation and it was making her more nervous than she had been just waiting for this girl to show up.

"Ayase Eri…Eri…Erichi! I'll call you that from now on. It's cute right? Just like you." That smile again, like she had just come up with the greatest idea ever known and was so proud of herself for thinking of it. Eri would have protested the assertion that she was cute if she wasn't attempting to fight down the blush that was attempting to make a comeback.

"E-Erichi…?" That wasn't the comeback that she had hoped for, but at least it wasn't as humiliating a response as it could have been, given the situation. It was obvious to Eri that this whole situation wasn't going well for her, and she was still holding the hand of a girl she didn't even know the name of.

"Yep! And I don't mind if you start calling me Nozomi right away. I don't want our relationship to start off too formally. In fact, I hope we can get more intimate really quickly." That last part was said in what could only be described as a playful tone of voice, and Eri was super aware that Nozomi was teasing her, but she couldn't think of any way to reply to that. She swallowed nervously and desperately tried to think of a way to extricate herself from this situation without hurting the other girl's feelings. She idly wondered if this was the reason why Nico hadn't wanted to hang out with Nozomi today. Having an oddly affectionate friend like her must be very awkward sometimes, she thought.

"hmm…its getting a bit late, so we can't really go out today after all…let's exchange contact information and then I will walk you home, okay Erichi?" Nozomi looked up at the setting sun as she said this and bit her lip, looking a bit disappointed. Eri assumed that maybe Nozomi had been looking forward to hanging out with a friend today. Feeling overcome with a little compassion for her after seeing Nozomi's dejected look, Eri decided that it would be fine to let Nozomi be her friend and walk her home today.

"Alright, let's go Nozomi…" Eri spoke her new friend's name a little shyly, feeling awkward about speaking so informally to someone she had just met. Nozomi smiled brightly at her when she heard it and swung their arms together, since they were still holding hands. Eri smiled nervously back and together they set off towards their homes.

Eri shivered in anxiety as the shadows deepened with the setting sun. It would be full dark soon and they weren't even halfway to her house. She glanced at Nozomi's cheerful face as she walked along humming a playful tune to herself. Eri thought about starting a conversation with her, but just as she opened her mouth to say something, a sudden loud noise came from a dark alleyway across the street.

Eri held tightly to Nozomi's arm and buried her face in the girl's neck, her face pale with fear. This was the reason why she didn't want to stay too late at school. Everything became infinitely scarier after dark. They stayed like that for at least a minute, Eri refusing to move away from the security that Nozomi represented, and Nozomi gently running her hand over Eri's back. Eri was vaguely aware that Nozomi hadn't stopped humming her cheerful song the whole time.

When they finally started moving again, Eri continued to hold onto Nozomi's arm, and Eri was grateful that Nozomi hadn't said anything about it. She was certain that her face was completely red from embarrassment as it was, she wouldn't survive if Nozomi had chosen to tease her about what just happened. They stayed like that the rest of the walk to Eri's house.

"Good night Erichi! I'll text you later about going out." Nozomi had walked Eri all the way to her doorstep and then kissed her on the cheek before leaving. Eri just stood there holding her hand to her cheek as she watched Nozomi turn around and wave before disappearing into the dark night.

"Alright…" Eri whispered to empty air. She found today to be completely strange, but she didn't think that Nozomi was a bad person. In fact, maybe it would be sort of refreshing to have a friend like her around. She would have to thank Nico later for being the reason why they had met. It was only then that Eri realized that she had never told Nozomi that Nico wouldn't be meeting her to hang out.


	2. Kotori

A/N: I changed this a little bit. chapter 2 is now from Kotori's perspective and the Nozomi part will return as chapter 3.

* * *

will return as While eating lunch outside with her two best friends, Sonoda Umi and Kousaka Honoka, Minami Kotori's thoughts drifted to a certain love letter. She didn't really know who was giving the letter or who was receiving it, because her friend and fellow alpaca caretaker, Hanayo, had forgotten to mention that part when she told her about it, but she knew that someone was going to receive one today.

Kotori smiled happily to herself as she thought about how lucky the future couple would be if everything worked out with the confession. She hoped it would go smoothly for them, whoever they were. She looked over at her two friends, who were squabbling over how much bread it was safe to eat in one sitting, and thought about how nice it would be to receive a love letter from Umi.

Kotori had loved Umi for as long as she can remember, but she was waiting for Umi to confess to her. She knew that Umi wasn't ready to deal with romantic things yet, as she couldn't even watch a movie that involved a romantic sub-plot without freaking out, but she had a plan for that. Kotori was going to get Umi used to thinking about those sorts of things subtly, and then one day, she knew Umi would confess and then they'd live happily ever after.

"One of our sempai is going to give someone a love letter today. I wonder if the recipient is someone we know. Oh! Maybe Eri-chan is going to get confessed to again." Kotori smiled brightly as she said this and looked at her two childhood friends expectantly. Disappointingly, Umi just took in this information with blank look and a hint of confusion about the sudden topic change. Kotori sighed quietly to herself; operation 'get Umi to think seriously about romantic things' would still require a lot of work.

"Oooh! Who's going to confess? Is it Toujou-san? She's had a crush on Eri-chan for forever, right?" Honoka immediately and excitedly jumped on board the new topic of conversation. Kotori smiled fondly at her friend. Honoka could always be counted on to back her up, even if the girl didn't realize that she was doing so. Kotori suspected that the reason Honoka was so excited to talk about this was because it distracted Umi from her scolding.

Kotori thought about the question that Honoka had just asked. Toujou Nozomi was one of two friends who Kotori visited every once in a while with her mother, since all of their parents were friends. She hadn't gotten to see her very often before they started high school, but they'd been friends since they were little, just like Kotori had been friends with Umi, Honoka, and Eri since they were little. Kotori had even showed Nozomi and Maki, the other friend, a picture of the four of them together once. She didn't have the picture anymore, because afterwards, Nozomi had wanted to keep it.

"I don't really know who is it is, but wouldn't it be nice to receive a love letter from the person you like? It's a very romantic way to confess, I think." Kotori let her eyes drift over to Umi as she said this, in the hopes that maybe this time, Umi would finally take the hint. Unfortunately, Umi only frowned at her juice box and didn't comment. Kotori hid her disappointment and told herself that it was too early to give up. Umi would get the hint eventually.

"I know! Let's stake-out the schoolyard after classes let out. If they meet out here, we can see who it is!" Honoka exclaimed excitedly, practically bouncing up and down on her seat. Kotori was tempted to agree, because she really was a little curious to know if the love letter confession would turn out well.

"Absolutely not. We have kendo practice this afternoon." Honoka looked dejected as Umi reminded her that they had to participate in club activities. Any chance that Kotori and Honoka might have had to change her mind was cut off by the bell ringing to signal that lunch was over. Kotori sighed once again as they packed their things and headed back to class.

* * *

It was just a coincidence that they ended up being there to see the results of the confession. Kotori had decided to stick around for a little bit to watch Umi and Honoka do their practice warm-ups, so she was a little later than usual taking care of the alpacas. It also took longer to finish since Hanayo wasn't there to help her this time. Kotori was just about to head back to meet the other two girls when she noticed Eri pacing under the large tree nearby.

Kotori debated on whether or not to call out to her friend, but finally decided to wait and see what would happen. She wondered if Eri really was the one that had received the love letter after all. She was so excited at the possibility that her childhood friend who refused to get close to anybody would finally experience love for the first time. She absolutely couldn't take the chance of interrupting that.

Kotori was still waiting and watching Eri pace from the shadow of the alpaca stalls when Umi and Honoka showed up to find out what was taking her so long. She quickly motioned for them to join her in hiding and pointed over to where they could see Eri waiting. Honoka very nearly gave them away with her excited squeal and Umi gave them both a disapproving look, but came over to crouch next to her anyway.

"Oh wow! It really is Toujou-san! And look at Eri-chan blush! I never would have guessed that Eri-chan liked her that much." Kotori worried that Honoka would give them away in her excitement, but Nozomi and Eri didn't even notice. They were too wrapped up in each other. Kotori was so happy for her two friends. She thought that the two of them would make a wonderful couple.

"S-shameless…" As the three of them had watched, Nozomi leaned close to Eri and it looked to them like she was about to kiss her, but Kotori and Honoka didn't get a chance to see it, as their attention was drawn to Umi as the poor girl passed out from the very idea of the upcoming kiss.

When the two of them looked back at Eri and Nozomi after moving Umi to a more comfortable position with her head on Kotori's lap, Nozomi was still holding Eri's hand and wearing an extremely bright smile and Eri was looking at her with a face even redder than before.

"Aww…we missed seeing Eri-chan's first kiss…" Honoka complained as she threw herself down to sit next to Kotori. It was an unspoken agreement that they would wait there until Umi pulled herself together enough to go home. Kotori just smiled at Honoka and ran her fingers through Umi's hair. Knowing that Nozomi had finally gotten the girl of her dreams after liking her for so long gave her hope that one day, Umi would finally realize that the two of them were meant to be together. Until then, Kotori was just going to keep being by her side, showing her in little ways that she was loved. And tomorrow, she would congratulate the new couple and wish them a long and happy relationship.


	3. Nozomi Part 1

A/N: This is Nozomi's part. I breifly posted a version of this as part 2, before I replaced part 2 with Kotori's part. This has been revised to be more inline with the previous two chapters. I hope you continue to enjoy it. ^^

* * *

The cards indicated that something wonderful and amazing would happen to Toujou Nozomi today. So when she opened her shoe locker to change into her indoor shoes and found a letter inside, she was much more interested in it than she would normally be. Nozomi didn't normally put much faith in the declarations of love and companionship that she got on occasion from other students, but since the cards had foretold a fortunate change in her life that day, she was willing to at least read the letter and give consideration to the person who had sent it.

Nozomi spent the morning feeling thoroughly distracted by the idea that someone might actually have a crush on her. She couldn't read the letter until lunch, and the thought of what it might contain distracted her from an otherwise boring series of classes. She couldn't recall what she was supposed to be learning, but she wasn't too worried about that. She would just call her friend and classmate, Yazawa Nico, in the evening and ask her about it, so that she knew what to study later.

When lunch time finally rolled around, Nozomi quickly packed her things and headed up to the music room. She has eaten lunch there with her childhood friend, Nishikino Maki, ever since the beginning of term, when Maki took a liking to playing the piano that was situated near the window whenever she had free time. Nozomi has two childhood friends who both attended school with her, but her other friend, Kotori, often ate lunch with her other friends.

Nozomi sat down next to her friend, who greeted her with a reserved 'Hey,' and pulled the letter and her food out of her bag. Nozomi contemplated the letter in her hand while she ate her lunch, uncertain whether she wanted to open it or wait until later. She thought that maybe if she opened it now, she might be disappointed in its contents, but if she didn't open it, she might miss her chance at whatever good fortune was supposed to be coming her way.

"What's that?" Her hesitation drew Maki's attention and as her eyes flickered to Maki's disinterested expression, that was most assuredly feigned, and back to the letter, she let a mischievous smile cross her face. She can't ever resist teasing her junior when she leaves herself so open.

"Hmm? Oh, this is just a love letter from my beautiful and kind future girlfriend. Why? Does Maki-chan want to go out on a date with me instead?" Nozomi doesn't know for certain that the person who wrote the letter is beautiful or kind, but she liked to think that the person she was going to end up with would be both of those things. Nozomi would give anything to receive a confession from the student council president, who she believes is the most beautiful and kind person she has ever seen, but she can't bring herself to hope that the letter would be from her. Maki's face had turned red now, and she looked like she is having a really hard time speaking over her indignation. Nozomi could feel her lips twitch as she held back her laughter at Maki's expression.

Maki merely huffed and turned back to her food, choosing to pretend that she wasn't the slightest bit interested in what Nozomi was doing. Now that she was done teasing Maki for the moment, Nozomi decided that it would be too much of a waste to not read the letter now. She had to make sure that she didn't miss out on her opportunity.

'Dear Toujou-san, I have sort of liked you ever since we shared a class in our first year. I think you are a wonderful person and I would be grateful for the chance to get to know you better. I know that you have probably never even considered me before, but if there is even a possibility that I could win your heart, then please go out with me. I will be waiting for you under the tree near the alpacas after clubs let out this evening. Meet me there if your answer is yes.'

The letter wasn't signed, so there was very little indication of who had written it. Nozomi was sort of curious to know who the letter was from, but she also was a little wary of going to meet someone she might not even know. Now she had a dilemma, she could go and see who had written the letter and maybe give them a chance, or she could forget about the whole thing. She decided to think about it awhile longer before making her choice.

The afternoon classes flew by in a flash, as far as Nozomi was concerned. Her mind was lost in thoughts of whether or not she should meet her mysterious suitor. She had a few ideas about who it could be, but some of those would put her into a situation that she wanted to avoid, and the one person that she wanted, she couldn't allow herself to get excited about. She was still undecided by the time her club activities were drawing to a close.

"You can't go. I won't let you accept her confession!" Just as Nozomi was finishing with a cursory clean up of the club room, a delay tactic to give herself more time to think, Maki barged into the club room, looking more distraught than Nozomi had ever seen her. Nozomi had a moment of confusion, not understanding why Maki was there, seemingly about to physically restrain her from leaving the room. After a second of complete stillness, while the two girls just looked at each other, Nozomi had an epiphany and realized that Maki must have known something about the writer of the letter.

"What's wrong, Maki? Is it about this?" Nozomi frowned thoughtfully as she pulled the letter out of her bag. Maki nodded, with that determined look on her face, still blocking the exit.

"I overheard some of my classmates talking this afternoon. They seem to think that Nico wrote that letter of confession to you. Nozomi…I…" Maki clenched her fist and looked away from Nozomi, gritting her teeth, and seemingly unable to say anything else. Nozomi gave her an understanding look and put the letter down on the club room table.

"I understand. I was really undecided about whether I should go just now. But you know, it might not even be her. Your classmates could have been mistaken. So…how about we both go together to see? If Nicochi really is there waiting for me, then I will properly reject her, because there is already someone else that I like, okay?" Nozomi spoke in a soft, gentle voice, hoping that if she sounded unthreatening enough, Maki would be able to calm down a bit. Maki looked back at her with an embarrassed yet grateful look and nodded shyly.

"Alright, I was just about finished here. Let's go." Nozomi was already really late, and she was afraid that if they delayed anymore, the girl would have already left; believing that she was turned down, and then Maki wouldn't be able to be reassured properly. Together, the two of them make their way outside and across the schoolyard toward the place where the alpaca's are taken care of.

Nozomi's heart nearly explodes with wonder when she sees Ayase-san waiting for her at the designated location, looking very anxious. She never thought for a second that the girl she has liked ever since Kotori had shown her a picture in elementary school would seriously be confessing to her. As she looked at the girl pacing around, she momentarily forgot that Maki was standing beside her, checking that her own crush wasn't anywhere in sight.

"It's not her…" Nozomi can hear the relief in Maki's voice as she said this, and she is overcome with her own sense of relief, knowing that her friend didn't just have her heart broken. She turns and gives Maki a victory sign and a huge grin.

"I told you before, Maki-chan. I have a wonderful future girlfriend waiting for me right over there, so if you wanted a date, you missed your chance. See you later!" Nozomi waited for Maki to return her grin before giving her a wink and a cheery wave. Now that Maki's crisis had been averted, Nozomi was overcome with happiness. She was ready to rush over to Ayase-san and reassure the nervous looking girl that she really did like her and was more than willing to go out with her. Nozomi was extremely grateful to Maki and Nico for being the reason she actually came to find out who the letter writer was. She would have to do something later to help the two of them with their 'relationship'.

Nozomi found it adorable how Ayase-san was so nervous about whether she would show up that she didn't actually notice her approach. Watching her looking worried and anxious made Nozomi want to take her hand and reassure her that everything will work out for the two of them. Giving in to her first impulse, Nozomi gently took Ayase-san's hand in hers and laced their fingers together.

Nozomi had always believed that Ayase-san would be a terribly shy girl when it came to relationships, and she was proven right. Immediately after Nozomi took her hand, Ayase-san turned bright red all the way to her ears and started stuttering. It is the most adorable thing that Nozomi had ever witnessed and the fact that it was because of her filled her with warmth and happiness.

"What's your name?" Nozomi realized earlier that she had never really asked Kotori what Ayase-san's given name was, and she didn't want to start off their relationship with the formal distance that comes with only calling each other by their family names. Kotori had only ever referred to her other friends by their family names when talking about them, because the two groups had never been formally introduced. Nozomi thought that maybe she should have Kotori introduce her and Maki to her other friends properly later, so that they could all be closer.

"umm…I'm Ayase Eri…" Eri used a hesitant tone that is almost a whisper, and Nozomi had to lean close to her in order to hear what she was saying. The blush that Eri had earlier was fading and Nozomi smiled brightly as she considered ways to make it return. It seemed like it would be easy to tease her cute girlfriend and Nozomi was looking forward to making Eri blush more often.

"Ayase Eri…Eri…Erichi! I'll call you that from now on. It's cute right? Just like you." There it was, the blush spread across Eri's face again, and Nozomi could tell that she was trying to hide it this time, but it was useless. Nozomi smiled happily, pleased with herself for being able to get a reaction out of Eri so easily. She was quickly becoming addicted to how adorable Eri looks when she is flustered.

"E-Erichi…?" Nozomi guessed that Eri was a little startled by her wanting to be informal right away, but she thought that it would be better for their relationship if they start with at least some level of intimacy beyond mere friendship. She wanted to show Eri that she is serious about this and doesn't consider their relationship as just giving Eri 'a chance'.

"Yep! And I don't mind if you start calling me Nozomi right away. I don't want our relationship to start off too formally. In fact, I hope we can get more intimate really quickly." Even though she said that last part in a teasing manner, Nozomi was completely serious. She could tell by Eri's reaction though, that the idea of getting intimate so early in their relationship was making her nervous, so she decided that it would be fine to leave it as a joke for now. She was willing to go slowly in order to make Eri feel more comfortable with her before they do anything more than hold hands.

"hmm…its getting a bit late, so we can't really go out today after all…let's exchange contact information and then I will walk you home, okay Erichi?" Nozomi was really disappointed that she couldn't immediately take Eri out on a date. She had been crushing on the girl for so long that she felt like everything might turn out to be just a dream if she didn't take advantage of the situation as soon as possible.

"Alright, let's go Nozomi…" Nozomi was pleasantly surprised to hear her name spoken so shyly by her girlfriend. She was overcome with happiness and her smile only got wider when she saw that Eri smiling back at her. Nozomi thought that Eri had a beautiful smile.

Nozomi had no intention of letting go of Eri's hand until she absolutely had to. The two of them didn't really say anything as they walked home, but Nozomi figured that Eri was still really nervous about being together with her. She tried her best to lighten the mood between them by humming a pleasant song that she'd heard Maki play on the piano a few times and for the most part, it seemed to be working.

They had been walking for a while when a sound in a nearby alley startled Eri and before Nozomi was even aware of it; her girlfriend was clutching her arm and had buried her face in her neck. Nozomi could feel Eri shaking violently, and it took her a moment to realize that Eri was scared. Nozomi had never been in this type of situation before, but she did her best to comfort the girl in her arms, running a hand soothingly down her back and continuing to hum.

After a minute or two, Eri calmed down, but they stayed like that for a little longer, just to enjoy the sensation of being close. Nozomi looked at Eri affectionately, feeling glad that Eri was already relying her to take care of her. Eventually, they continued on their way to Eri's home, and Nozomi was concentrating on the feeling of Eri holding onto her arm, her head partially resting on her shoulder. It was a really pleasant experience.

When they reached Eri's house, Nozomi took a moment to memorize its location, so that she could find her way back on her own, in case Eri ever called her to invite her over. Nozomi walked Eri all the way to her door and hesitated a moment. She really wanted to give her girlfriend a good night kiss, but she knew that Eri probably wasn't ready for that. Nozomi had to find out if Eri wanted their first kiss to be super special before she messed things up by being too eager. Instead, she opted to lean over and give Eri a sweet kiss on the cheek. It was a good compromise and it had the added bonus of allowing her to see Eri blush again.

"Good night Erichi! I'll text you later about going out." Nozomi turned to look at Eri one last time as she started heading toward her own home. She could see Eri watching her with her hand to her cheek. Eri was blushing and covering the place where Nozomi kissed her, and it made Nozomi smile as she walked away. The whole way home, Nozomi thought about where to take Eri for their first date.


End file.
